Story-Telling Unit (25 Word Pitch)

A DEAD END (Thriller)

The Pitch

Two strangers meet after stopping to assist a dying man at night. However, they soon discover that it isn’t just the wounded man in danger…

Characters

Initial character design

Unidentified man, Late 20s (Secondary Character) – Discovered on the floor of a car park in the middle of the night, dying from a gunshot/stabbing wound and bleeding from the abdomen.

Michael, 23 (Main Character) – A sharp young man who is personable and caring of others around him. Parking his car late at night in order to catch a flight for his sister’s wedding early the following morning, Michael walks straight into a situation far out of his depth. With good intentions, he stays and attempts to help however he can, hoping to save a life - but not enough to be prepared to miss his very important flight.

Aeron (Main Character) - A young woman who arrives at the scene shortly after Michael, Aeron explains that she stayed late working in the offices above. However, it soon becomes apparent to both Michael and the audience that her role in the story is not as innocent as she claims. She soon suggests that the pair abandon the man to die, allowing to continue their own lives, but as Michael has a last minute change of heart her true role in the narrative is revealed as a hidden assassin - exposing her as a lying and dangerous individual.

Location

An empty car park, night:

An isolated setting easily accessible to both the main characters, the car park provides a local, yet eerie and isolated space - reflective of a thriller film.

Plot

At the dead of night, a man lies dying on the floor of a multi-storey car park. He is discovered by Michael, a young man who parks his car in preparation for a flight to his sister’s wedding early the following morning. As Michael panics, he attempts to phone the emergency services, only to discover that he has no reception.

A few moments later, Aeron, a young, business-like looking woman also arrives on the scene. Michael explains the situation, and with no one around to call for help the pair discuss their options. With his flight in a matter of hours, Michael is keen to get going – despite his good intentions towards saving the man. Similarly, Aeron seemingly wishes to help him, but has been at work late and is tired.

She soon points out that if the pair did leave the man (who, she argues, is clearly not going to make it anyway), there would be no repercussions for either of them as there is no one around, no security cameras and there would be no trace of them even being there. Despite being initially shocked and disgusted, Michael decides that his sister’s wedding takes priority.

Just as he is about to leave the scene, Michael spots the handle of a gun/knife poking out of Aeron’s bag. Finally putting the pieces together, he begins to walk away, calling the police. Before he gets to inform the authorities, he is killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. Aeron then finishes off the dying man on the floor, calling her employer to tell him of a “slight change of plan…”

Source Material

Full Article

This article formed my initial inspiration for my final narrative. When reading it, I questioned the circumstances of the man's death, including:

• How did he end up in a car park?
• Who killed him?
• Why was he killed?
• What did he last see / experience?

These questions then led me to the idea of an assassin hired to kill him, forming a meeting. However, after looking at several rules of screenwriting I decided to make things slightly more interesting and begin my narrative in media res - leaving an audience to question the scene for themselves.

I also looked at these scenes from Channel 4’s Utopia, and FX’s Fargo (2014) - which helped me with the idea of a hidden assassin, and inspired me when creating the character of Aeron. Both scenes depict a very cold, callous killer, but also include a strong sense of dark humour which I would like to reflect in my own piece.